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A Foolish Time to Cut Housing Aid

With record numbers of families teetering on the verge of homelessness, Congress should be shoring up the precious few federal programs that provide affordable housing for the poor, the elderly and the disabled. Instead, both the House and Senate are considering cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Developmentbudget, which would hurt cash-strapped states and communities in sheltering the most vulnerable citizens.

The agency spends most of its budget on low-income programs, including on rent vouchers used by nearly two million families and a program that makes it possible for developers to set aside affordable units in multifamily buildings. The Obama administration has asked Congress for about $41.7 billion for the department, roughly the same amount as in each of the past three years. It says that the proposed House budget would provide about $38 billion, and the one in the Senate about $37 billion.

The federal government’s failure beginning in 1990s to meet its commitment to public housing makes further cuts devastating. Public housing, with more than $25 billion in a backlog of repairs, is on the verge of collapse. Unless Congress puts significant money into the capital fund, tens of thousands of units around the country will continue to crumble and could be lost forever.

The administration has asked for a modest $3.8 billion for the Community Development Block Grant program, which was set up to improve housing, infrastructure and economic opportunities to poor and moderate-income people in all communities. If Congress falls short of that request, it could kill off building and renovation projects, sacrificing as many as 6,000 jobs.

Congress should fully finance the $88 million housing counseling program, which helps distressed homeowners avoid foreclosure; a cut seems particularly foolish when millions of families are facing threats of foreclosure. Given a recent surge in homelessness, Congress would also be wise to come up with the $2.4 billion for the department’s homelessness prevention and rehousing program. This is no time to abandon needy families. A relatively small investment could prevent hardship and homelessness for people who have no other resources.

A version of this editorial appears in print on October 26, 2011, on page A26 of the New York edition with the headline: A Foolish Time to Cut Housing Aid. Today's Paper|Subscribe